Bill > HR304

This resolution creates a House Study Committee on the Costs and Effects of Smoking, comprising five members of the Georgia House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker, who will also designate the committee's chairperson. The committee's primary purpose is to examine the extensive health and economic impacts of smoking, including its role in causing numerous serious diseases, the health risks of secondhand smoke exposure, and the substantial annual costs to the United States (over $300 billion in smoking-related illness expenses). The committee is empowered to study the conditions, needs, and issues related to smoking, with the ability to recommend legislative actions. The members will receive standard legislative allowances, and the committee is required to file a report of its findings, potentially including proposed legislation, before its automatic abolishment on December 1, 2025. The resolution highlights the severe health consequences of smoking, such as its connection to cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses, and notes that for every person who dies from smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness.

Health and Social Services

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70508